Reintegrating injured hen into flock

[higginskzoo]

My sweet Brahma has been recovering from a raccoon attack indoors for several weeks. She has been on antibiotics, painkillers, eye drops and a steady diet of mealworms to get her to eat! She seems to finally be doing better although she is probably blind in one eye. Seems like she might be getting depressed and as weather is warming up I thought I would move her back outside where I have small separate coop and pen next to main chicken run.

So I just read that flock will not remember her and that reintegration will be a challenging process. I have introduced multiple young birds at a time, but never a single bird. I have half a dozen baby chicks arriving the first week of April which I will have inside for about 6 weeks. My question is whether I should wait and add the baby chicks in with the Brahma indoors and then integrate them all at the same time? Wondered if it would be any easier to add her in to main flock with young friends. Or will she just bully the chicks? Really wish chickens were more welcoming!

 

[cleoandtheflock]

The flock will very likely remember her if she was apart of the flock before
But since then she has probably lost her spot in the pecking order so she will be low and get picked on
Put her in a wire dog cage in the run and let them see her and get used to her again and then they might let her back in
How old are the baby chicks that could depend on how they would get along with the Brahma
Our 3 month old pullet got along with our 1 year old hen right away
But it’s always different

 

[cleoandtheflock]

The flock will very likely remember her if she was apart of the flock before
But since then she has probably lost her spot in the pecking order so she will be low and get picked on
Put her in a wire dog cage in the run and let them see her and get used to her again and then they might let her back in
How old are the baby chicks that could depend on how they would get along with the Brahma
Our 3 month old pullet got along with our 1 year old hen right away
But it’s always different

 

[Wyorp Rock]

My sweet Brahma has been recovering from a raccoon attack indoors for several weeks. She has been on antibiotics, painkillers, eye drops and a steady diet of mealworms to get her to eat! She seems to finally be doing better although she is probably blind in one eye. Seems like she might be getting depressed and as weather is warming up I thought I would move her back outside where I have small separate coop and pen next to main chicken run.

So I just read that flock will not remember her and that reintegration will be a challenging process. I have introduced multiple young birds at a time, but never a single bird. I have half a dozen baby chicks arriving the first week of April which I will have inside for about 6 weeks. My question is whether I should wait and add the baby chicks in with the Brahma indoors and then integrate them all at the same time? Wondered if it would be any easier to add her in to main flock with young friends. Or will she just bully the chicks? Really wish chickens were more welcoming!

If she is well enough to go outside in the separate area, I would go ahead an try it.
Since she has lost the use of one eye, it may be more of challenge, but you never know.
Chickens can be brutal to one another. I would put her in the separate area for a couple of days to let her settle in a bit, then let one of your most docile hens from the flock in there with her to see if they get along. Monitoring the whole time.

There's no perfect way to do any of this, sometimes you have to try a few different things to see what works. You never know. She may still be in there by the time the chicks are old enough to go out and you can try adding them to her pen. She may accept it or not. Chickens can be weird.

Here's a really good article by @azygous for introducing a single hen, you may want to read that.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/introducing-a-single-hen-to-an-existing-flock

 

[higginskzoo]

I am encouraged that there is a chance they will remember her! I have a sweet small Orpington who is at the bottom of the pecking order (although she seems oblivious to her status and continues to try to run with the larger mean girls and consequently has a small bald spot on the top of her head!) I will try putting them together in side pen in hopes that the Brahma’s larger size will help even things out. Fortunately weather is getting better so more free range opportunities should help the flock feel happier and less stressed. Glad I have a quiet weekend coming up so I can keep an eye on all these drama queens!

 

[higginskzoo]

If she is well enough to go outside in the separate area, I would go ahead an try it.
Since she has lost the use of one eye, it may be more of challenge, but you never know.
Chickens can be brutal to one another. I would put her in the separate area for a couple of days to let her settle in a bit, then let one of your most docile hens from the flock in there with her to see if they get along. Monitoring the whole time.

There's no perfect way to do any of this, sometimes you have to try a few different things to see what works. You never know. She may still be in there by the time the chicks are old enough to go out and you can try adding them to her pen. She may accept it or not. Chickens can be weird.

Here's a really good article by @azygous for introducing a single hen, you may want to read that.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/introducing-a-single-hen-to-an-existing-flock

Thanks for this link! Very helpful article.